Why Tuchel's decision to overlook Chalobah could prove costly

Chelsea have been too quick to rid themselves of promising talent in recent months. They elected to sell Fikayo Tomori and Marc Guehi to AC Milan and Crystal Palace, respectively, but at least Conor Gallagher will return to the club in the summer. Nevertheless, Chelsea have been too ruthless in their pursuit of a financial gain with Tomori and Guehi winning admirers aplenty in their new surroundings. 

With Antonio Rudiger, Andreas Christensen and Cesar Azpilicueta all leaving - or at least, expected to leave - at the end of the season, Chelsea are in the testing position that means they need to strengthen at the back, and teams will be aware of this and hike their prices up as a result. 

There have been a number of big name centre-backs linked with Chelsea as a result of their need for defenders, with Jules Kounde, Matthijs de Ligt and Pau Torres all reportedly on their radar, but this issue for Thomas Tuchel and the Blues is to get through to the end of the campaign with the current crop. 

Normally, that wouldn't be such an issue, but with three first team regulars all effectively out the door come the end of the campaign, it's unlikely that they'll be focussing too much on their soon-to-be-former employers, even with an FA Cup and a Champions League finish to play for. 

With that in mind, should Tuchel elect to instead use those centre-backs who will be at the club next season, and potentially give them a chance to nail down a regular spot ahead of a flurry of big money arrivals? Granted, that doesn't leave a particularly deep pool of senior centre-backs at Tuchel's disposal. Of those on the books at the club who aren't leaving this summer, that'll see the German's options limited to Thiago Silva, Malang Sarr and Trevoh Chalobah. 

The latter's case is a curious one given Tuchel's use of Chalobah at the start of the season. In the opening months of the campaign, the 22-year-old started far more frequently that many could have foreseen, and impressed in Tuchel's three-man backline. Yet, even with Chelsea's issues both on and off the pitch, Chalobah's game time has been limited despite having a positive effect on the Blues' results. 

For a player his age, starting 14 league games for a team as prestigious as Chelsea would be seen as a positive, yet Chalobah has started just five league games in 2022. Perhaps he isn't in Tuchel's long-term plans at the Stamford Bridge helm, who is to say, but there is no denying that the youngster has done enough to warrant his chance in the final knockings of the season, particularly at the expense of those who will be leaving this summer. 

Given the circumstances, Chalobah must be watching on wondering what else he has to do to work his way back into Tuchel's plans. He ranks fourth for tackles per 90 (2.5) and eighth for interceptions per 90 (1.2) for Chelsea this season, while a pass success rate of 89.4% is behind only Thiago Silva and Ruben Loftus-Cheek. In addition, Chalobah has returned a WhoScored rating of 7.02, the sixth best for Tuchel's side, so it's not as though he is underperforming for the Blues. 

He's proving a capable ball winner for Chelsea, and his distribution allows for the Blues to dominate opponents as they successfully build attacks from the back. It's no wonder, then, that Chelsea are unbeaten in Chalobah's 15 league starts this season, winning 12, with a win percentage of 80% a huge increase of the 35% in the 20 Premier League matches he did not feature in from the outset. 

What's more, Chelsea's goals conceded per game record drops from 1.2 to 0.47 when Chalobah starts, while their goals scored per game increases drastically from 1.65 to 2.57 with the defender in the starting XI. Since the start of April, Chelsea have kept just two clean sheets in seven and conceded 12 goals in that period, which includes shipping eight at the hands of Brentford and Arsenal on home turf. 

In that period, Chalobah has started just the once, that Chelsea's 1-0 win over West Ham at the end of April, however following that victory, he hasn't played a single minute despite Chelsea conceding to Manchester United, Everton and Wolves, picking up two points from those three matches. Without the same defensive resolve once seen earlier in the campaign, opponents are growing more confident that they can pick up a result against the Blues and with just one point separating Arsenal in fourth, and five from fifth-placed Tottenham, who take on the Gunners on Thursday night, they could head into the final two games of the season just two points clear of Spurs, providing Antonio Conte's side beat Arsenal and Chelsea lose to Leeds.

Yes, he may have a mistake in him - only Edouard Mendy (4) has committed more errors leading to an opposition shot than Chalobah (2) of all Chelsea players in the Premier League this season - yet this would be magnified given his position, while inexperience at this level would results in this gaffes. To have dropped so far down the pecking order, though, is a surprise in itself, particularly with his peers struggling.

Chalobah may not be the long-term solution to Chelsea's defensive issues, but at present he may well be the defender they need in order to guarantee Champions League football at Stamford Bridge next season and potentially upset the odds when they take on Liverpool in the FA Cup final this weekend.